A/N: We are delighted to have you reading! Enjoy!

Deliberate Decisions

Chapter 12

Sara did meet Martin Andrews and spent most of the afternoon listening to the young man. She answered questions asked about her husband; Martin told stories of his childhood and described his home as being a happy environment. They talked about his interest in medicine, about Las Vegas, about Sara's work, and Grissom's work. When Sara mentioned Paris, Martin's eyes brightened.

"My mom took me to Paris when I was fifteen! We had a wonderful time—she took photographs and I watched the pretty French girls!"

"Gil was invited to teach. I wandered around the city being a tourist for several months," Sara said, and then laughed. "But I was lost without work to do—even though I loved Paris, I missed having something to do—something familiar—so I returned here to work while Gil taught. He loves the forensic archeology work—he's been able to work all over the world—while I hold down the home front." With a laugh, she added, "It's unconventional but it's worked for us."

Both Sara and Martin realized how easy it was to talk to each other. Martin was learning about his father; Sara was talking about the man she loved and in his son, she caught glimpses of her husband. Yet both had set boundaries—Sara did not ask probing questions about his mother or grandfather. Martin made no queries about her married state. After promising to talk again, she did what she knew best—she went to work.

A few days later, on the other side of the world, Gil Grissom read emails and smiled as Sara's words on the computer screen resonated in his brain as if hearing her voice. In great detail, she wrote about Hank, about shopping for groceries, about a case of a murdered woman who had been found covered with feathers, the murder-suicide of a family. He finished and quickly sent a short email and clicked on the webcam to see if she would answer. As he waited, he scanned the emails again and for the first time realized there had been a long break—more than twenty-four hours—between emails. A simple explanation, he thought, as he tried for a webcam connection a second time. Finally, giving up, but keeping the internet connected, he crawled under fresh, clean sheets and blankets and settled into a real bed for the first time in a week.

He should have been able to sleep—scrubbed clean from a hot shower and in a comfortable bed, rethinking the written words of his wife, actually counting the days before he would see her again—but he turned, restless in the narrow bed. After twenty minutes, he got up and read Sara's emails again. He counted seven emails—one for each day, but the twenty-four hour gap puzzled him. She had written two of the emails a few hours apart. He checked dates and times; it should not be but it was a bothersome break in pattern. Especially for Sara Sidle whose attention to details—he chuckled—rivaled his own.

When he had almost given up on hearing from her, his computer signaled an active webcam and within a minute, he was looking at his wife and both were smiling so broadly that neither one said anything for several seconds.

Grissom spoke first, "I miss you." Softly, he cleared his throat. "Every day."

Three of Sara's fingers went to her lips and she went through the simple motion of blowing a kiss. "I miss you—every hour!"

"It's not much longer and I'll be home." A smile twitched across his face. He had thought about waiting to tell her about his decision, but seeing her face, realizing how much he missed her, he said, "And I'm staying—what would you think if I took a position at UNLV." He heard an audible gasp and watched as Sara's smile grew. "Rare butterflies at Mt. Charleston—the university has a rather large grant to study them and guess who is number one to head up field work?"

The smile breaking across Sara's face made her thoughts obvious. She was speechless and both of them begin to laugh at the same time.

"But what about—what about your…"

He laughed. "After this trip, I'm staying at home, sleeping with my wife—I've decided I'm too old for a tent and a cot and a shower once a week."

Sara wanted to cry with happiness, but managed to maintain a delighted smile. Grissom's news lifted a gloom that had settled over her since she had learned about Martin Andrews and suddenly she could easily laugh as she begin to tell her husband about the odd and ordinary every day happenings in Vegas. Relief flooded through her body as realization came—she had already made the decision not to tell him about his son until he got home—she could break the news of his son and he would be at home, with her, as he got to know Martin.

And then Grissom was talking about the beauty of the desert, the process of uncovering layer after layer of sand to reveal hundreds of years of the unknown past. Suddenly, he asked: "Are you okay?"

"Yes—yes! Just surprised at your decision."

"You look pale—are you sleeping enough?" He asked. He had noticed weariness around her eyes within minutes of their conversation.

Her smile reappeared as she said, "It's work, Gil. A murder a night—sometimes several. We get in and turn around to go to another." Her face brightened. "But, I'm working a lot now so I can have some time off when you get home! Are you sure about the Mt. Charleston research? Butterflies can't be as interesting as finding three hundred year old bugs!"

"I love you, Sara." His voice softened, "It's time I lived with my wife—and we work on our own project." His desire to hold her, to touch her, was so intense his arms actually ached.

At that moment, Hank stuck his nose into view, nuzzling against Sara's face, causing her to giggle. The sound of Sara's lilting laugh as he watched his wife and dog, half a world away, caused an unexpected desire in the center of his chest that quickly traveled downward. Knowing the sensation was caused by their long separation, he placed his hand on the screen, saying "Soon, Sara, soon."

A/N: The time has come! Grissom is heading home to Sara! Thank you for reading, for your reviews and comments, and especially for letting us know GSR is alive and well! More to come!